Online Dental Education Library

Our team of dental specialists and staff strive to improve the overall health of our patients by focusing on preventing, diagnosing and treating conditions associated with your teeth and gums. Please use our dental library to learn more about dental problems and treatments available. If you have questions or need to schedule an appointment, contact us.

Space Maintainers

The loss of your child's baby tooth before the adult tooth has fully developed affects the teeth around it as well as the alignment of the adult tooth. Ensuring that the tooth grows in its proper position is important. The other teeth have to be held in place, which can be done effectively with space maintainers. Space maintainers are a combination of elastics and bands that keep the surrounding teeth in their proper positions.

Space maintainers placed immediately after the loss of the baby tooth protect against further dental problems. A number of orthodontic issues can occur because of the loss of an underdeveloped baby tooth. Moreover, the growth of the tooth in the proper place is essential and space maintainers make it possible.

Keeping the space maintainers clean is important or else decay can accumulate under the appliance. Your child will have to keep the space maintainers on until the tooth is properly in place since there is the risk of the new tooth growing in the wrong place.